RealtyTrac: Alabama foreclosure activity rising

Foreclosure activity rose in Alabama in April from the previous month, RealtyTrac says.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Foreclosure activity across Alabama rose in April from the previous month, bucking the national trend, according to RealtyTrac, a California firm that tracks mortgage defaults.

RealtyTrac said foreclosure filings in Alabama rose 9.5 percent in April from March, while decreasing 5 percent across the nation. The number of filings in Alabama in April -- 1,153 -- was down 2 percent from the same month in 2011, the firm said.

Alabama's foreclosure rate was one in every 1,205 households, far below the U.S. rate of one in every 698 households.

Nevada's rate remained No. 1, with a filing for every 300 households in April. Two Southeastern states were in the top five highest rates: Florida was No. 3, with one filing for every 362 households, and Georgia, with one for every 398.

Alabama's April rate ranked No. 25. Foreclosures have remained a problem in the Birmingham area.

"Rising foreclosure activity in many state and local markets in April was masked at the national level by sizable decreases in hard-hit foreclosure states like California, Arizona and Nevada," RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore said in a statement. "Those three states, and several other non-judicial foreclosure states like them, more efficiently processed foreclosures last year, resulting in fewer catch-up foreclosures this year.